USEFUL LINKS

The Importance of Summer Development

I get a lot of questions about our summer football activities and I wanted to take a moment and explain what our summer program is all about. It seems that all of the high school sports today are asking kids to commit to summer activities to make their teams better for the coming season. Since the MSHSL has allowed each sport the ability to coach its athletes during the summer months, coaches feel pressure to hold summer activities or run the risk of getting passed by our opponents. Football is no different in that respect. The more players we have who get better during the summer the better we will be in the fall. That being said, we hope that players will commit to attending the summer activities that we offer for several other reasons as well.

First, we encourage them to develop physically through the SPARTAN POWER strength and conditioning program. Football is a physical sport that requires the kids to be in great shape BEFORE the season begins. Players who are strong and in great shape have fewer and less serious injuries than players who report in the fall in poor shape.

Second, we encourage our players to attend a TEAM camp at South Dakota State University. We have sent kids to this type of camp for the past 12 seasons and kids have told us that their memories from this camp are some of the highlights of their high school careers. In addition the players who attend the camp will face great competition and they will see the level of play that they will need to achieve for the coming season. Also, our TEAM chemistry begins to develop at the TEAM camp because the players are together for three days straight. For this reason alone, the TEAM camp is vital for a successful season.

Finally, we are holding a TEAM mini-camp at the end of July. This mini-camp will allow the coaching staff to teach the techniques and drills that we will be using during the season. Teaching techniques and developing skills at a slower pace in the summer will allow us to play faster once we start in August. It will also help players focus on doing things the right way every time, which will lead to a safer player throughout the season.

As a parent, I encourage you to talk to your son about what he wants to get out of his football experience. Some players, absolutely love football and want to do whatever it takes to make themselves as good as they can be. They can't get enough football and will attend all TEAM activities. Other players like football, but have other interests as well. For them a few of the events are musts, but they may not want to go to everything. This is no problem and should not prevent them from being great TEAM members in the fall. For all other players, football may be something they do, but summer football activities are not part of their plans. This too is ok, because we need all types of kids in the football program. Everyone is welcome and we DO NOT CUT ANYONE who wants to play. Please feel free to contact me with any specific questions about the whole Orono Football program and its goals.